Network-enabled devices have a network interface that must be uniquely identified on a network to differentiate its address from other physical or virtual devices on the network. The conventional way to differentiate different network interfaces is to assign, depending on the jurisdiction, a Media Access Control (MAC) address or an Extended Unique Identifier (EUI) to each device. A MAC address or EUI identifier is a long sequence of meaningless (to a human) hexadecimal digits, typically twelve or sixteen (in the case of EUI-64), and typically is printed on a small label affixed to the device. These hexadecimal digits are meaningful to a computing device, and the corresponding binary sequence of digits is used by the network and network-enabled devices to communicate with one another. To commission or add a new network-enabled device onto a network, an end user must enter the meaningless twelve- or sixteen-digit hexadecimal number using an input device into a computing device, often alternating glances between the area where the number is printed and the input device, each time trying to remember the last value entered. This commissioning process, particularly for “lay” users who are not technologically savvy, can be prone to input error, meaningless to the user, and frustrating. For systems where a manufacturer desires to provide many network-enabled devices, making the device commissioning process more meaningful and simplifying it is advantageous.
What is needed is a foolproof way of commissioning new network-enabled devices onto a network to simplify the commissioning process and to make it meaningful to the installer or end user. Aspects of the present disclosure fulfill these and other needs.